I was going to copy and paste the whole list here, but then I remembered last time I did that, I had to scroll forever to read the profiles on this group, which is arguably the most important group in the list for our purposes given that they’re the likeliest to be available in the most leagues. Anyway, the links are still here and the most streamlined way to build this out, I think.
Here’s a link to the Top 25.
Here’s a link to the Top 50.
Here’s a link to the Top 75.
76. RHP Gavin Williams | Guardians | 22 | AA | 2022
77. RHP Cade Cavalli | Nationals | 24 | AAA | 2023
78. C Tyler Soderstrom | Athletics | 20 | AA | 2023
79. OF Sal Frelick | Brewers | 22 | AAA | 2023
Gavin Williams threw six hitless innings his last time out, bringing his Double-A ERA down to 1.59 and his WHIP to 0.95. That’s in 45.1 innings across 11 starts. WHIP is 0.81 in eight starts since July. Cleveland is somehow getting better at pitcher development, partly because they’re applying their systems to better and better athletes. Williams is 6’6” and 255 pounds but repeats his delivery well. Two plus benders. Double-plus fastball.
Cade Cavalli is similarly enormous at 6’4” 240 lbs. You could convince he’s three inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than that. Looks like a linebacker pumping high heat with extreme run to the right-handed batter’s box. Bigtime tempo guy. When it’s going well, he’s back on the mound and firing in blinks. When it’s not, his whole game slows down. He’s been awesome for three months (2.12 ERA, 1.02 WHIP since May 22) and would likely be in the majors at the moment if the Nationals were.
I’ve never been a Tyler Soderstrom pusher. I think he can hit, and I’ll give him the high-probability big leaguer thing, but ours is a game of impact. Standout tools. Soderstrom’s best tool is hit, which is often what you’d like to see, but Oakland is not the best home for a hit-first catcher who might not catch but doesn’t have much speed to handle the outfield.
Get your money for nothing and your licks for free. Better Call Sal has a 200 wRC+ in 15 games at Triple-A. He’ll be on the next stash list.
80. OF Colton Cowser | Orioles | 22 | AA | 2023
81. SS Brooks Lee | Twins | 21 | A+ | 2023
82. OF Gavin Cross | Royals | 21 | A | 2024
83. 3B Cam Collier | Reds | 17 | CPX | 2026
Colton Cowser has a lot of love in the analytics community, and he’s always warranted that with good outcomes on the field. Can be a consistent piece in a dangerous lineup, and he’s a perfect fit for their ballpark as a lefty who knows how to drop the barrel on an inside pitch and pull it. He started hot at Double-A and still has a .458 OBP at the level despite hitting .167 over his last ten games.
Brooks Lee has some things in common with Cowser, especially being a polished college player with a plus hit tool who should race through the minors.
Don’t get upset with the Royals’ hitting development team if they’ve hit another home run with Gavin Cross, who’s slugging .719 in eight games in Low A. Doesn’t tell us much because he should be ahead of the arms at that level, but it’s nice to see and it’s certainly better than struggling.
To the surprise of nobody, Cam Collier is adapting well to the pro game, slashing .333/.478/.500 with one home runs, four strikeouts and five walks in six games.
84. 1B Jonathan Aranda | Rays | 24 | AAA | 2022
85. 1B Matt Mervis | Cubs | 24 | AAA | 2023
86. 1B Niko Kavadas | Red Sox | 23 | AA | 2023
87. OF Alexander Canario | Cubs | 22 | AA | 2023
The main worry with Jonathan Aranda is that the Rays will always prefer to play lesser players to save money.
I worry someone got into Matt Mervis’s head about strikeouts. To his credit, he’s cut them by six percent from Double-A to Triple-A, but he lost some power in the exchange. Still, it’s a good sign that he can be more than one kind of hitter, and it’s exciting to see him cut his K-rate by double digits while climbing the ladder from High-A to Triple-A. Most importantly for our purposes, he’s looking at clear runway to an everyday gig if he can hit the ground running in 2023.
Niko Kavadas is a Mervis variant with slightly more patience and power. I like him a little better than Mervis or Aranda, but his path to playing time is foggy. I’m way more likely to draft Kavadas than Casas at cost in a start-up.
I wasn’t thrilled with the Cubs’ acquisition of Alexander Canario, but I’m happy to be wrong in this case. My main objection had to do with 40-man management and the fact that Canario would always need a spot there despite having a long way to go in his development. Well, he’s hit the gas on that development. In 35 games since July 1, Canario is slashing .297/.412/.656 with 12 home runs, 24 walks (15.7%) and 31 strikeouts (20.3%). I guess it doesn’t hurt much to let him finish the season at Double-A, but he’d be better off getting accustomed to the next level.
88. 2B OF Oswaldo Cabrera | Yankees | 23 | MLB | 2022
89. RHP Brandon Pfaadt | Diamondbacks | 23 | AAA | 2023
Oswaldo Cabrera has been hot since July 1, slashing .333/.415/.631 with eight home runs in 30 games. He’s listed at 5’10” 145 lbs but might be two inches and 30 pounds more than that. He’s a switch hitter who fits well into the park and could seize a full-time role with any kind of spark in a struggling offense. Robbing a home run like he did in right field the other night can only help his cause.
Speaking of opportunity, rotation spots are ripe for the plucking heading into next season for Arizona, and it’s proven to be a fairly cozy place to find nice ratios in the Brent Strom era. Brandon Pfaadt has already thrived in an incredibly difficult pitching environment for Triple-A Reno, allowing a 0.84 WHIP and 2.37 ERA despite allowing 1.89 HR/9. It’s just 19 innings at the level, but it’s a continuation of his trouble with the long ball at Double-A (1.62 HR/9). Here’s hoping that too is mostly environmental due to an Amarillo deck stacked in favor of offense.
90. 1B Blaze Jordan | Red Sox | 19 | A+ | 2022
91. OF Josue De Paula | Dodgers | 17 | DSL | 2027
92. 2B Nick Gonzales | Pirates | 22 | AA | 2023
93. RHP Wilmer Flores | Tigers | 21 | AA | 2023
94. RHP Jackson Jobe | Tigers | 19 | A | 2025
95. SS Wenceel Perez | Tigers | 22 | AA | 2023
OF Josue De Paula (17, DSL) should be added where you can while you can as the Dodgers’ latest Dude. The 3D Dude Printer they’ve patented takes time to warm-up, and Dude Printers are notoriously buggy, but at 6’3” 185 lbs, De Paula looks like the Dude they put in all the 3D Dude Printer ads. And look, if he suddenly faceplants in the DSL or Complex League for whatever reason, you move on, but for now, it’s double arrows up. He’s slashing .349/.448/.522 with five home runs, 15 steals, 31 walks (14.9%) and 28 strikeouts (13.5%).
Blaze Jordan has name recognition, plus raw power and developing plate skills as he morphs into something of a contact hitter, striking out just 16.1 percent of the time with eight home runs across 95 games in Low-A before slugging three homers in his first eight games at High-A. It’s a path you love to see for anyone but especially for a right-right corner bat who will have to mash to make room for his bat in the lineup.
I’m more likely to buy than sell Nick Gonzales at his current perceived value. He’s slashing .333/.429/.533 in 8 gm since coming off IL, which continues an uptick that began May 11, .337/.425/.505 in 25 games. I think he’s a rhythm hitter who hasn’t enjoyed the health required to stay hot across enough time to float his stats.
Wilmer Flores has done everything Detroit has asked and more. There’s a bit of a kid-gloves scenario playing out in terms of how deep the organization will let Flores go in a given game, and that along with Detroit’s tendency to drop the ball make him a sell for me even at this late-100’s price.
Jackson Jobe has been good for a high schooler going straight to full-season ball. That’s the rub with drafting a high school righty. Even if it goes well, the results will likely be underwhelming for our purposes.
Aside from Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene, the Tigers have had a pretty good year throughout their system. Wenceel Perez looks like a potential regular thanks to plus plate skills and speed to go along with solid defense and developing power, slashing .307/.374/.540 with five home runs and five stolen bases in 39 Double-A games.
96. SS Oswald Peraza | Yankees | 21 | AAA | 2022
97. 3B Jordan Diaz | Athletics | 21 | AAA | 2023
98. C Edgar Quero | Angels | 19 | A | 2025
99. SS Pedro Ramirez | Cubs | 18 | CPX | 2026
100. OF Jorge Barrosa| Diamondbacks | 21 | AA | 2023
I’m not sure what to do with Oswald Peraza. His outcomes warrant this ranking and maybe better, but his path to playing time is complicated to say the least. I remain a little shocked he wasn’t called upon to help the club at any point in 2022.
My neighbor has been using a chainsaw all day long. Nine hours straight during my writing day here about 20 yards from his whining blade. Maybe my brain is breaking. Maybe this is the perfect spot for a no-speed corner bat still sneaking under the radar. If you’re in a league where at bats matter, you could do much worse with a speculation spot than Jordan Diaz, who should be able to slug his way into an everyday role early next season.
Are the Angels even looking at Edgar Quero? They’ve left him in Low-A for 94 games. He’s slashing .312/.425/.520 with a 13.1%-to-17.9% walk-to-strikeout rate. They also insisted on a catcher in return for Brandon Marsh despite Quero being their best prospect this side of Zach Neto. Maybe they acquired Logan O’Hoppe so that Quero’s bat could race through the levels, but that’s not happening.
SS Pedro Ramirez (18, CPX) is a 5’9” 165 lb switch hitter who’s carrying over his 2021 success in the DSL. That’s no easy feat. Minor League sands are always shifting in terms of where you might see a prospect fall into the quick stuff, but the gulf between the Dominican Summer League and stateside baseball has swallowed up plenty of youngsters. Ramirez is cruising right through, slashing .324/.392/.542 with 16 walks (10.1%) and 25 strikeouts (15.8%) in 41 games.
Jorge Barrosa is playing limbo with the radar, staying comfortably underneath despite locking in at Double-A, slashing .333/.433/.507 and looking like a switch-hitting variation on Sal Frelick in 37 games since July 1. He’ll turn 22 in February and join a speedy slither of snakes in the Arizona outfield grass.
Thanks for reading!
I’m @theprospectitch on Twitter.